A Dog's Life
by Kelenas
Summary: Sometimes, you need a trained beast to keep a wild one in check. What course will Naruto's life as a member of the Inuzuka clan take?
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. _

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On a usual afternoon, the Hokage's office was a rather quiet place. But then, it was rather hard to declare the current day as 'usual' in any way. After all, being attacked by the Nine-Tailed Fox easily qualified as a rather unique event.

"...no, no, no, and for the last blasted time; NO!"

The young Hokage tore his gaze away from the window of his office and turned it towards the agitated young woman currently shouting and pacing around in his office. For a moment, he considered interrupting the kunoichi's furious rant, but he decided against this.

He had only met her a few times before, usually during official meetings, and he didn't know very much about her. What he did know, however, indicated that it would be the best solution to let her deal with this at her own pace, without any interference on his side. Especially considering the high state of agitation she was currently in.

By all rights, she shouldn't even be running around like this after giving birth only a few hours prior. Though, after she had received the message from the Hokage, none of the medics had built up the courage to actually confront her about this.

"You're not gonna use MY son for this!"

Not for the first time since she had charged into his office the Hokage let out a resigned sigh and turned his gaze back upon his office's window. Or rather, upon the ominous presence one could sense in the distance.

"...probably lost your bloody mind! There has to be some other way of defeating it! It's just a damn fox, after all. It can't be that difficult to..."

Unconsciously tuning out the ranting woman he continued to stare into the distance, trying to arrange his thoughts. Had anyone asked him what he felt at this moment, he would have been unable to answer. There were just way too many conflicting emotions running through his head, making it impossible for him to decipher them all. It was frustrating, to say the least, and he felt the strong urge to mimic the woman's pacing and shouting, to do something – _anything_ – to release his frustration.

Yet, at the same time, his tension was kept in check by the curious detachment he felt. Like all of this wasn't happening to him, but to someone else. Like he was nothing more but a curious bystander, watching some kind of dramatic story unfold.

Besides, as much as he would have liked to vent his pent-up tension in one way or another, doing so would hardly do any good toward putting the agitated kunoichi at ease. And, considering what he was about to do to her, as well as her son, he felt that he owed her that much at the very least.

He was about to speak when he noted the silence that had reigned for a few minutes now. Turning around once again he saw the woman sitting on a chair close to his desk, her body language screaming sadness and defeat.

"I'm being terribly selfish ... ain't I?", she asked quietly while keeping her gaze down. In a way, her subdued demeanour did more to unsettle him than her previous temper tantrum.

"My husband and many other shinobi already sacrificed themselves ... and you ... are about to do the same. All for the good of the village. And yet... all I manage to think about is myself and my own wishes."

After taking a deep breath she finally lifted her gaze to look at the Hokage, "There really is no other way, Yondaime-sama, is there?"

The blond man in question returned her look for a few seconds before finally shaking his head in sorrow, "If we had more time, we might be able to work something out. Given the few hours remaining, however, this is the only viable option left to us..."

The kunoichi let out a long, resigned sigh. Forcefully calming herself down, she thought about the questions she wanted to ask, and which one she should begin with. "Why my son of all people?", she finally blurted out.

The Yondaime anticipated the question, and dreaded it nonetheless. Though he had tried to think of something to say which would make this more bearable for the woman in front of him, nothing seemed even remotely right, leaving him only with the hard, cold facts, which he doubt would hold much comfort for the woman. Averting his gaze, it came to rest upon the scroll which held the specifics of the seal he would use to imprison the attacking demon. Reaching for the scroll the Yondaime settled himself down behind his desk before he started to speak.

"There are several reasons. One, is the fact that a newborn is required and your son is the only baby born today. Second, due to your clan's preferred techniques, as well as your animal companions, you are quite familiar with mindsets that are more ... primal than a usual human's. Third..."

He took a breath while he considered how to phrase his next sentence. The woman in front of him meanwhile let out a rather undignified snort at the Hokage's euphemism. 'Familiarity with primal mindsets' ... yeah, right. She was well aware about the fact that most people thought of members of her clan as little more than savages. The Hokage, of course, knew this as well. He was just too polite to phrase it that way, even had he shared most people's view of her clan.

Meanwhile, it seemed like the Yondaime was finally ready to continue.

"Third, with you, your daughter Hana, as well as your fellow clansmen, he will have a family to support him. This, I believe, will be quite important in the future, considering the gargantuan burden I'm about to entrust him with."

For a few moments, the kunoichi watched the Hokage silently, as if she was expecting him to continue. When it became apparent that he had nothing more to add, she continued her questioning.

"Alright, I get your reasoning. Doesn't mean I like this any better, though." She shot him a glare to underline her statement before going on. "Now, why do --"

"I assume you want to know why these reasons are as crucial for my decision as they are?", the Yondaime interrupted her. His question was answered with a nod.

"Well...", he began, rubbing his chin in thought. "I think it'll be easiest to explain how the seal works if you envision it as a dam. While holding the demon at bay, it will allow a continuous stream of its chakra into your son's chakra system to be absorbed, therefore constantly pushing his own chakra reserve's boundaries. This is why his status as a newborn is of such high importance. Just a few days older, and his chakra system would already have started to develop, making it difficult, if not impossible, for it to adapt to ... his condition."

The Hokage made a short pause to emphasise what he was about to say next.

"Now, this is why the second and third reasons are of such importance. You see, due to the enourmous quantity of chakra the Demon Fox holds, the seal is under a constant amount of high pressure. And while I have done absolutely everything in my power to ensure that the Nine-Tails will never be able to seize control whatsoever his host under normal circumstances, there is still the possibility that the seal might weaken in times of high emotional or mental pressure, allowing the demon some influence over his host..."

He was interrupted by a yell holding enough anger and fury to scare even him for a moment.

"WHAT! You said you'd make sure the demon wouldn't be able to hold any power over my son!"

The clan head looked ready to jump over the desk right into her village leader's face, consequences be damned. The Hokage's attempts to calm her down were hurried accordingly.

"Please, listen! I was about to explain why being raised in your clan could be of advantage for him!"

At least somewhat calmed, the woman sat down again, though she still shot furious glares at the Hokage, pressing him to continue his explanation. Quickly.

After exhaling a breath he wasn't aware he had held, he hurried to finish his explanation.

"...well, as I said, emotional stress while drawing large amounts of chakra might allow the Nine-Tails to influence his behaviour. This is especially the case with emotions that resonate within the demon, like anger or hatred.

"From what I've heard, some of your clan's techniques hold similar dangers of losing oneself within one's more basic instincts, yet you have ways of dealing with this danger. These ways, combined with the emotional backing your family can provide, may very well make a difference between staying in control... or losing it."

Apprehensive, he watched the woman out of the corners of his eyes and tried to gauge her reaction. She didn't seem happy at all. Nevertheless, after a few seconds of silence, she lowered her head in defeat, and the Yondaime allowed himself a small relieved sigh. It wasn't like he had any other choice, but the woman's consent meant a lot to him. It lowered the burden on his heart, even if it was just a little.

"You... any advice?", she croaked, the implications of all this finally getting to her and choking her voice.

"In a few years, he'll probably have a lot of energy and stamina to spare. Try to tire him out as much as you can; it might help to alleviate the pressure put upon the seal a bit.

"And, well, if there is any kind of problem with the seal, try to find my old sensei, Jiraiya, and show him this scroll. He should know what to make of it."

Standing up he leaned over his desk and placed the scroll in question in front of her. She reached for it warily, as if refusing the scroll could keep all those things he had just explained to her from happening.

Walking around his desk, he placed his hand in what he hoped would be a reassuring gesture on the kunoichi's shoulder.

"I am sorry, Tsume-sama. I really wished there'd be another way."

Lifting his hand from her shoulder, the Yondaime started to leave his office, only to be held back by the Inuzuka matriarch's voice.

"May I request something, Yondaime-sama?"

Turning around, he saw Tsume watching him with a pleading look in her eyes he found himself unable to refuse.

"Of course. What is it?"

"I'd like... I don't want this to be widely know."

This brought a frown upon the Yondaime's face.

"For what reason? The people of the village ought to know what happened, and who their saviour is."

His statement was answered with an insistent shake of her head.

"No.", she answered forcefully. "If what you said about the seal is true, he'll already be under enough pressure as it is. I don't want him to deal with whatever opinions or expectations the rest of the village might have, as well."

And again, her look became a mixture between a plea and a threat. After a few moments he gave her a hesitant nod.

"Very well. Though there are some people who will have to know. Sandaime-sama, for instance, as well as the academy's instructors, if you want him to pursue a ninja career. Anyone else... I'll leave up to you, though it would probably be a good idea to discuss it with your clansmen, as well."

"Thank you...", she whispered. It seemed as if there was more she'd wanted to say, and was struggling with herself on a way to put it into words. The Yondaime had a feeling about what she wanted to tell him. Something along the lines of 'I'm sorry you have to do this' or 'Thank you for doing this for us'. Though it warmed his heart to know that the Inuzuka's clan head cared for him as a leader and a person, even despite everything he was burdening her and her son with, he decided to spare her the awkward situation by ending their conversation.

"Perhaps you should get yourself some rest. After all, this conversation must have been quite taxing on you.", he told her kindly. "I will have to go now, but I will tell one of the remaining ninja here to take you somewhere to make yourself more comfortable... while you wait."

Stepping though his office's doors, he beckoned one of his chuunin guards to him.

"Take Tsume-sama to a room where she can make herself comfortable and rest. And..." He lowered his voice so that it couldn't be heard through the doors. "... have a medic-nin take a discreet look at her, in case she overworked herself."

After receiving an affirmative bow, the Hokage watched the chuunin hustle away to carry out his orders. He took a deep breath to steel himself before making his way to the roof of the Hokage tower. He stepped toward the roof's edge and jumped off, performing the sequence of hand seals needed for his Summoning Technique as he neared the bottom. Upon landing, he slammed his palm into the ground to execute the technique's final step.

A short quake, together with a sizeable amount of what most ninja had come to call "Chakra Fume", announced the arrival of Gamabunta, the Yondaime's personal combat summon. The residue of the technique's chakra fume was joined by a stream of normal tobacco smoke from a pipe as the massive toad started to speak.

"Hm... so it is time, eh?"

The boss of toad summons watched his summoner while extending one of his webbed feet toward the blond, young man, so he would have an easier time to climb atop his head.

"You know... I'll miss you, lad. You, and the box of sake you still owe me."

The grumpy toad's attempt at cheering him up brought a thankful smile upon the Hokage's face.

"I know, old friend. I'll ask Sarutobi-sama to have one ready for you, after we're finished with all of this. Wouldn't want you to get too thirsty, would we?"

"Ha! You bet, lad. You ready to go, then?"

"I am. Though we will have to take a detour toward the hospital. There is something I need to get beforehand."

"Eh? Well, if you say so. Guess I'll hurry, then. Can't wait to whack that furry nuisance around..."

After orientating himself Gamabunta took off toward the hospital, as his summoner had asked for.

"Don't worry, old friend. It will get what it deserves...", was the Hokage's answer as he steadied himself atop the toad boss' head.

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"Please, this way, Inuzuka-sama."

The chuunin, who had led her from the Hokage's office through several corridors toward this room, motioned her to enter the room they were standing in front of. Two couches, as well as several chairs composed a small sitting arrangement, with a small table in the center. It smelled of coffee and old cigarette smoke.

"It's the staffroom. Usually it's only used for breaks, although a few clerks even sleep here sometimes, usually when there's loads of work to do. You should be able to get some undisturbed rest here. Although I could bring you some food or drink, if you like?"

Tsume nodded slightly at the chuunin as she cautiously seated herself on one of the couches in the room. She hadn't realized how exhausted she was until the Yondaime had mentioned it.

"Some hot tea would be nice, if you please."

Sprawling herself atop of the couch she watched the chuunin leave and began to massage her eyelids. Although she was fatigued as hell, she didn't feel like taking a rest. Actually, she wanted someone to talk to, especially about the things the Hokage had told her.

Now, she regretted leaving her canine companion Kuromaru behind to watch over her little daughter. Although he was rather simple-minded and tended to understand only the more basic of human concepts, it was exactly this simplicity and straightforwardness that made him easy to talk to, and more than once had helped her to sort out her own thoughts and feelings.

Pondering her thoughts, she didn't notice her fatigue taking its toll and overwhelming her.

She was startled awake by someone lightly tapping her shoulder. Snapping her eyes open she stared into the face of a young woman with a tablet in her hand.

"Your tea, Inuzuka-sama. Shall I just put it down on the table?"

Tea? Ah, yes, she had asked the chuunin who led her here for some. That must have been before she fell asleep. Even considering her circumstances, it disconcerted her quite a bit that she had given in to exhaustion that easily, as well as overlooking the presence of the woman until she practically shook her awake. Usually, Tsume should have noticed her presence and woken up the moment she entered the room.

Reaching for the cup of tea the Inuzuka mumbled a short "Thanks." toward the young woman, before taking a cautious sip. She barely noticed it was only lukewarm.

"How long have I been asleep?", she asked the girl, receiving a shrug in return.

"A few minutes, maybe. Not very long, in any case."

When the older woman had emptied the teacup, the girl took it from her.

"I'll be outside, in front of the room, to let you rest. Just call for me, in case you need anything. The name's Kitako."

"Thanks. I feel a bit better already."

The younger woman gave Tsume a small smile in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"You still look exhausted. Perhaps you should get some more sleep; I'll wake you up if something happens, alright?"

The Inuzuka woman let out a short, bark-like laughter before lying down on the couch again.

"Yeah, yeah, alright. I'll try to get some shuteye."

And true to her words, she covered her closed eyes with her elbow in an effort to get some more rest. Though she didn't like it, there wasn't anything else she could do at the moment.

Still, she felt thankful for the opportunity to rest. If the signals she received from her body were any indication, she needed it quite badly. After all, the day had been quite taxing; not only physically, but emotionally as well. Again, she slowly drifted off into sleep.

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This time, she was awakened by a knock on the door, instead of someone tapping or shaking her, for which she was quite grateful. It enabled her to wipe away some drool from the corner of her mouth before responding.

"C'm' 'n."

She was still slightly drowsy and therefore slurred quite a bit, though whoever was waiting at the door apparently understood what she had said. Either that, or he just took the noise she had made as a generic sign of consent.

Opening itself, the door revealed the face of the young woman, Kitako, as well as the Sandaime Hokage. Drawing Tsume's attention, however, was neither of those persons, but the small boy securely wrapped in blankets in the arms of the old man.

She was about to leap from the couch and run towards the Sandaime to claim her son but her own fatigue, as well as the fact that the old man was already striding towards her, held her back. Reaching her, Sarutobi handed the child over to her and sat down on a chair on the opposite side of the small table.

Looking upon her son's face, a smile unconsciously formed on her lips, though it was mixed with sadness. Her husband would never be able to look into his son's face, after all. Gently stroking the sleeping boy's blond hair she spoke to the Sandaime, her eyes never leaving her son's face.

"Is it over?", she simply asked the former Hokage.

"It is. Although the cost was high – too high – the sealing appeared to have been a success. It will probably take a few days, though, until we can say for sure. I'll have a closer look at the seal then, as well as the boy's chakra circulation, to ensure that the seal works as intended."

Leaning back in the chair, Sarutobi took a drag from his pipe, even if it was long extinguished.

"It does.", Tsume stated with such confidence that he couldn't help himself but lift his eyebrows in surprise.

"How can you be so sure? You don't have much knowledge on seals, after all, or do you?"

"No, but," She paused to give him a beaming smile only a mother was capable of. "No demon could have such a peaceful face while sleeping."

Despite the grim situation Konoha was in, the old man couldn't help but smile and feel a sliver of hope sprout in his heart. Yes, their situation, as well as their near future did indeed look grim. But, thanks to the sacrifices of a few, the village as a whole at least had a future.

The mother and her son, sitting here in front of him, were the living proof to that.

"What will happen now?", she asked, interrupting Sarutobi in his musings.

"Hmm... quite probably, I'll be reinstated as the Hokage. At the moment, I am still one of the people most suited for the position, and the villagers will welcome a familiar face. It will give them a sense of security and predictability. In addition, I'm already familiar with the bureaucratic procedures

"Soon after, I'll have to start clearing up the village's records, now that the war has ended. And I will pass a law which prohibits anyone without the proper authorisation from speaking about the sealing incident."

Noticing the worry written on her face he put away his pipe to continue.

"I know of the request you voiced to the Yondaime, although I fear it won't be easy to fulfill. You see, there were several ninja who witnessed his fight with the Demon Fox, as well as its conclusion. Which, unfortunately, includes the sealing ritual used to imprison the demon.

Now, although I already took the time to talk to most of them and asked them not to speak of this incident, we both know that in a large group of people someone is practically bound to let something slip, leading to rumors.

Even the law I intend to pass will probably not be enough to stop those. Though I hope that it might help in keeping said rumors from spreading too far."

His explanation was accepted with a slow nod from Tsume, who was quite careful not to wake up the sleeping boy in her lap.

"It would have been to good to be true, if it just had stayed at least slightly akin to a secret, wouldn't it?" She spoke in a hushed voice before she let out a sigh and tore her gaze away from her child, looking at the Sandaime.

"I guess we'll just have to deal with things as they come. And talking about dealing with things... I'd like to request being taken off duty."

A slight frown appeared upon the old man's forehead.

"I believe that can be arranged. But I would certainly like to keep you as an active-duty ninja. After all, we lost a great deal of good men and women tonight."

"I know.", was her solemn answer. "But... with my husband's death I'll have to take over my clan's affairs, and managing them will likely take up a lot of my time. Not to mention that I'd like to raise my son myself, instead of leaving it to someone else. Besides, I won't quit being a ninja. It's just that, at the moment, my son and my clan need me more than my village. In a few years Hana will be old enough to look out for them, and my clan should have regained some of its routine. Then, I'll resume my duties."

"Very well, I'll see what I can do about it, though I don't see any real problem. The council probably won't like it, but if my guess is right, you won't be the only one to withdraw from active duty. I suppose I'll have to talk to them rather sooner than later, anyway."

He pushed himself out of the chair, signaling the end of the conversation.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama."

A slight chuckle escaped his lips. "You know, it will still take some time for me to be reinstated as Hokage. Assuming, of course, that the council doesn't choose someone else."

"Maybe. But it can hardly hurt to start practicing.", she responded lightly while rising from the couch herself.

"Would you like someone to escort you?", he inquired but was met with a shake of her head.

"I'll get by. Though I should go now, and get my son into a real bed..."

With a last smile, Sarutobi bid his farewell, mumbling to himself while walking away. "Now, were do I get a box of sake on such short notice...?"

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Even after taking her exhaustion into consideration, Tsume still made haste to return to her residence in the Inuzuka's quarter. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop she cushioned her landings not only with her legs, but with chakra as well. Still, it seemed like her method of travel had woken the child despite her precautions.

Stopping, she began to gently cradle the boy in her arms while humming a soft melody. Her actions had the desired effect of calming the child. Instead of crying, he let out a happy gurgle and seemed to be trying to reach to her face with his diminutive hands.

"I still have to get you a name, son. Your father still hadn't made up his mind on which one to give you, and he won't be able to do so, anymore...", she sad in a sad voice. Usually it was customary within the Inuzuka clan that the male parent named the male children, and the female parent named the female children. Under these circumstances, though, upholding this custom was not possible.

Tucking her son securely away in the blankets, so that only his face was visible, she continued her path toward her home, still humming slightly. On her way, she desperately tried to think of a name for her son while letting her subconscious guide her legs toward their destination. Just before she reached her front door, something akin to a suitable name for her son popped in her head. The name didn't exactly follow the usual Inuzuka customs, just like the fact that she was the one giving it to him, but then again, her daughter's name didn't follow that custom to the letter, either.

"Looks like we'll have to make up some new customs soon, to replace the ones we're going to demolish.", she chuckled to herself while entering her house. Quickly she made her way towards the living room, where she had told her canine partner to watch over her 6-year-old daughter. As she walked into the room, she had to suppress a new chuckle welling up inside of her.

On the floor in front of the couch laid her long-time companion Kuromaru, his body language signaling resigned annoyance. Sprawled on top of him was her daughter Hana, her small arms enclosing his neck, using him as a bed as well as a pillow.

Opening his remaining eye, he shot Tsume a glare, as if daring her to make a joke or comment.

"You are late.", he said in his rumbling voice, lifting his head from his paws. "What has happened?"

"The Hokage asked to see me. He had to use my son to imprison the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox within him and wanted to talk to me beforehand."

"Hm... I see...", the large dog grumbled and rested his head on his paws again. With this, the problem was solved, as far as he was concerned. The Yondaime Hokage was very reasonable – well, for a human, anyway – and wouldn't have done something like this if he wasn't sure it would work. It did, however, explain the slightly uneasy smell the boy had around him. Like part from it didn't belong to the boy himself, but to someone, or rather something, else. He didn't know where to place it, though it was certainly strange.

Still, while it was a bit uncomfortable to him, he saw no reason therein to be alarmed, despite what his nose told him. After all, he would accuse veterinaries of having an unpleasant smell, too.

"Unh... Mommy?", came a sleepy voice from Kuromaru's back. It seemed their short conversation, together with his movement, had awakened the girl.

"Heya, toots.", Tsume said with a smile and kneeled down on the floor besides them. "Guess who's got herself a little brother?"

Her daughter watched her with awe before pushing herself of Kuromaru – causing him to give off an irritated grunt – and walking toward her mother.

"He's small... and he's got funny hair...", was Hana's critical statement. "What's his name?"

A small smile curved her mother's lips.

"Naruto. Inuzuka Naruto..."

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**A/N:**

Ah, yes, I turned Naruto into a full-blooded Inuzuka. You may assemble the lynch mob now (or congratulate me for having a good idea, depending on your opinion).

As to where I got the idea... I honestly don't know. I just thought it would be fitting, with Naruto's feral way of fighting (when influenced by the Kyuubi), as well as some similarities I noted.

I'm not going to use Japanese terms or honorifics much. The only exceptions are very well known honorifics (-san, -sama, -chan, etc), terms (everyone knows just what the Chidori and Rasengan are, for example), and of course character names. Everything else will be plain, old English.

Last, but certainly not least, I'd like to sincerely thank my two beta-readers, Quizer and Nawaki, for bearing with me.

Nawaki has been a great help to draw a rough outline of the plot, and Quizer saved me from committing some rather embarrassing mistakes. So, let's hope they'll bear with me a bit longer, eh?

Kelenas


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

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"Hana-chan! Naruto-chan! Get down here! Breakfast's ready!" Tsume shouted upstairs as soon as she was finished setting up the table for her children. The smell of coffee, toast, and other breakfast ingredients permeated the kitchen's air. Humming slightly she looked for a cup and poured herself a healthy dose of coffee as she waited for the two of them to arrive. It was a bit strange, how much of a liking she had taken toward the bitter, dark drink from Rain country, considering the unpleasant memories she associated with it's country of origin.

She had barely finished her cup, as she heard the taps of bare feet upon the wooden floor. Their rhythm easily identified them as her daughter's, not that she would have expected otherwise. While Naruto was awake about the same time as Hana, he liked to stay in his bed until someone dragged him out of it.

"Mornin', Hana-chan," she greeted her daughter with a good-humoured grin as soon as she entered the kitchen.

"Morning, mom, Kuroma-" Hana began to return Tsume's greeting, still wiping some sleep out of her eyes, only to interrupt herself and let out an exasperated sigh at the sight of her mother clad only in panties and t-shirt.

"Mom, why is it you have to run around half-naked in the morning? What's if someone visits and sees you like that?" She tried to chide her mother, though her pout only made her mother's grin widen. It was rather hard to take a 10-year-old's scolding serious. Kuromaru just stayed silently in one of the kitchen's corners, already used to the antics of his partner and her little girl.

"I'm more comfortable that way than wearing a pyjama. Besides, it's much more practical than changing into a different set of clothes just to get some sleep," Tsume answered with a shrug as she turned around to fill her cup anew.

In truth, it was also to hide the small, sad smile that somehow had crept upon her face. It was painful, at times, to see just how strongly Hana resembled her father, in character as well as in looks, and inadvertently reminded Tsume of him.

"Your little band of ruffians is still sleeping, I guess?" She asked to distract herself from those thoughts, though she already suspected the answer.

"Yeah, they're fast asleep. I just hope my guys won't make a habit out of it," came Hana's mumbled reply as she started to consume her meal."

"I doubt they will," her mother disagreed, receiving a reaffirming grunt from her own animal companion. "Besides, you can hardly speak of 'bad habits', when talking about pups as young as they are. Anyway, I probably should try to get Naruto down here." She let out a small, frustrated sigh. "I'm tired of him always coming late for breakfast. And as loud as he can be at times, he might wake them up in the process."

Walking to the kitchen's door she slid it open and stuck her head through. Down the corridor were the stairs that led up to her children's bedrooms. "Naruto-chan!" She called out and listened for a reaction. After waiting in vain for a few moments, she took a deep breath to let out a much louder yell. "NARUTO! If you don't get your ass down here right now, I'll let Kuromaru have your food!"

This threat earned her a confused glance from her canine partner. "What would I want with a bowl of cereal? I already have my own food..."

"Not the point," she answered with a grin. True enough, only seconds later there was a loud thump, like someone had suddenly fallen out of his bed. It was followed by the sound of small, bare feet clumsily running down the hallway, only interrupting their hurry to carefully climb down the stairs. "No, mom! Not my breakfast!"

Chuckling slightly at her son's outcry, Tsume watched as he stormed into the kitchen with a protesting look on his face.

"Well, maybe I can let it slip, for once," she said thoughtfully and gave Naruto a glance while she tapped her finger against her chin.

As he saw her standing there and looking at him with a grin on her face he put on an offended pout. "You're mean, mom!"

"Ah, quit whining around and say 'Good morning' to everybody, instead. I prepared your favorite breakfast, after all."

The threat forgotten, he stretched his arms toward her to signal that he wanted to hug her. Squatting down she let him encircle her neck with his small arms and plant a peck on her tattooed cheek. Smiling, she ruffled his unruly hair before standing up and walking toward the counter to get his breakfast.

"You're just as bad as mom," Hana accused her little brother upon seeing him clad only in boxer shorts. Between the three of them, she was the only one decently clothed at the moment. "Still, good morning, Naruto-chan."

Her comment, however, only served to earn her Naruto's attention and a hug similar to the one Tsume had gotten. "Good morning, big sis!"

The last one to be greeted by Naruto was Tsume's animal companion, although the black, wolf-like canine gladly would have passed the opportunity. He had already been forced to endured similar treatment when Hana had been the same age as her brother was right now. And when she finally had grown too old to hug and pet him any longer, Naruto had been there to pick up just where his sister left.

Still, while he wasn't too happy about the way the two siblings chose to express their affection for him, he definitely didn't dislike Naruto or Hana themselves. Quite the contrary, actually. Especially Naruto was impossible not to like, considering just how exuberant he was in his affection for his family. Into which, strangely enough, the boy seemed to include him.

So, Kuromaru just took the kid's show of fondness in stride, while secretly enjoying the meaning behind Naruto's actions themselves. Not that he would readily admit this, though.

As he finally got tired of the boy's attempts to bury his face in his fur, Kuromaru nudged the blonde kid slightly with his nose. "Don't leave your mother waiting." He told the boy in his rumbling voice.

"Eh?" The boy asked confused and lifted his head from Kuromaru's back. Blinking in quick succession he looked around in the kitchen, until he noticed his mother standing beside the kitchen table, his breakfast ready on a tablet.

"Don't tell me you want to use Kuromaru as a bed? You got up just a few minutes ago.", she asked her son with a quirked eyebrow before setting down his breakfast. It took Naruto only a few moments to reach the chair and climb on top of it. With a enthusiastic "Thanks, mom!", accompanied by a similarly enthusiastic smile, he started to dig into his food.

For a few minutes, silence reigned over the family, as Hana and Naruto were busy with their respective breakfasts, and Tsume got enough time to drink yet another cup of coffee. Of course, with someone as energetic as Naruto, such silence was not meant to last.

"Mom, why do I have to get up this early? I wanted to stay in bed a bit longer. Is today something special?"

His question elicited a snort from his mother. " 'A bit', you say? More like 'half an hour or so'." She glared at him and shook her head disapprovingly. "It's time you stop being late for breakfast all the time and get somewhat used to a daily routine. That way it'll be easier for you once you start at the ninja academy." Her expression became softer and a bit mischievous. "In addition, I don't have any clan business today, so I would like to spend the day with my children."

"Which reminds me," Hana interjected, hastily gulping down a bit of her food, "I'm going on a field trip with my academy class today. I probably won't come back 'til tomorrow afternoon."

Finishing her meal, she started to gather her dishes and clean them in the sink. "I have to get ready to go. Otherwise I'm gonna be late," she informed her mother and rushed up to her room after putting the dishes to the side where they could dry.

"Seems like it'll be only us today, then, sunshine," Tsume remarked, earning a happy grin from her son. He enjoyed to spend time with his mother; his sister just wasn't fun. She tended to view herself as the family's common sense and - according to him - always stood in the way of having a good time. "How about we go to the eastern forest after you're finished with breakfast?"

For a few seconds, Naruto paused in his meal to think this over, before nodding insistent. "Yeah. Then we can visit old man Shippo on the way? Please?"

The way he stretched his plea made Tsume chuckle, though she wasn't overly surprised. Shippo was one of the Inuzuka's oldest members and well liked by most of the clan's children. As a retired ninja, he had plenty of time at his hands and spent most of it either entertaining the children with a few of his highly exaggerated stories from his past as an active-duty shinobi, or he would carve them small toys and figures out of wood and give them to the kids.

"We'll visit him on our way home, alright? It's a bit too early to disturb him now."

"Awww..."

Their discussion was interrupted by an irritated shout from upstairs. "Mom! Do you know where my shuriken and kunai sets are?"

"Try the ranged practise targets behind the house," the Inuzuka clan head informed her daughter while giving Naruto another glare. She recalled very well seeing him yesterday evening as he tried to imitate his sister's training with her thrown weapons. Despite the fact that his mother had forbidden him from doing so, saying she would show him how to do it in a few years' time.

"Thanks mom! See you tomorrow!" Was Hana's reply while she rushed past the kitchen towards the front door, followed by a trio of small, gray pups.

"I guess we should get ready to leave as well," Tsume commented her daughter's departure and drank her remaining cup of coffee. Starting to gather the leftovers and dishes, she was interrupted by Naruto's voice.

"Um... mom? Could I have a second portion?" He asked with a sheepish look.

x--x--x--x--x

It was a good morning to be outside, Tsume decided after throwing a glance through the house's front door. It evidently had rained just the night before, so the morning breeze had a nice, clean smell to it, and the coolness that announced the slowly approaching autumn was a welcome relief from the oppressing summer heat that had reigned only a few weeks prior.

"You coming, too, Kuromaru?" She asked her partner, who hadn't moved from his chosen corner in the kitchen up until now. Said dog pondered the question for a few moments before he rose and joined Tsume and Naruto at the door, his choice evident. If he read his partner's intentions correctly, then it would be a good opportunity to stretch his legs a bit. It had been quite some time, after all, since he and Tsume had been able to train.

"Come on, Kuromaru! Let's go!" An impatient Naruto jostled with a grin.

"Say, why don't you two make a little race, to see who can reach the forest first? I'll follow you guys later, with some food and drink, so we can have dinner there. Sounds good?"

"Sure. We'll see you there." Surprisingly, it was Kuromaru who answered Tsume's question. Though he mainly did so to cut off the stream of cheers, pleas, and shouts that otherwise would have come from Naruto. Most of the time the kid was just way too eager for his own good. Or the patience of the people around him, for that matter.

Thanks to Kuromaru's intervention, however, Naruto just let out a single loud cheer and started to run down the street toward the woods as fast as his legs would carry him. Sometimes, Kuromaru mused, the easiest way to handle the kid was to give him what he wanted before he could start to plead for it. It saved a lot of time and patience.

"Take care of him," Tsume told her animal companion and gave him a stern look. Her message was rather clear; 'Don't take your eyes of him' and he accepted it with a short nod. He took after Naruto with a quick sprint, but slowed down into a relaxed trot as soon as he reached the boy.

Meanwhile, Tsume took the backpack with lunch she had prepared earlier and slung it onto her back. Leaving the house only shortly after Naruto and Kuromaru, she quickly took to the rooftops and followed them, though she took care to stay out of their view. The Inuzuka district's layout was both an advantage, as well as a hindrance with this.

Actually, one couldn't really speak of an 'Inuzuka district' as such. Like the Akimichi or the Yamanaka, they didn't feel the need to distance themselves from the rest of Konoha's populace within the walls and confines of a separate district or compound. The only thing distinguishing the Inuzuka district from the rest of Konoha, beside the obvious fact that most of the Inuzuka clan members lived here, was the abundance of small parks, gardens, and overall greenery. That aside, it shared the same ragtag architectural style as the rest of Konoha.

Exactly this style was the reason for the difficulty Tsume had achieving her two objectives. It offered quite a lot of possibilities to hide oneself from view, which unfortunately worked both ways, even if it was unintentional. It wasn't much of a problem for experienced Konoha ninja, who knew their village's layout inside out, but unfortunately it has been quite some time since she had the opportunity to familiarize herself with it.

Despite all this, she somehow managed not to lose track of them, although she was rather sure that Kuromaru had noticed her a some point or another.

She reached the small field of grass on the edge of the forest only a minute or two after Kuromaru and Naruto. The latter was currently lying on his back in the grass with a wide and happy grin plastered on his face, despite the fact that he was panting heavily.

"I did it, mom! I won!" He told her proud between his gasps for breath.

Putting down her backpack beside them she ruffled his hair with a grin. "Sure you did. You're my son, after all." She was well aware that Kuromaru had let Naruto win and threw him a knowing glance.

"Does that mean I can get my own kunai and shuriken soon?" Naruto tried to capitalise on his recent victory, but his hopes were crushed when he heard his mother's reply.

"Nope. No sharp and pointy things for you until you enter the academy."

"Awww, but mom..."

"No 'But's!" She interjected. "Although I might change my mind if you beat me in a game of hide-and-seek. How about it?"

Of course, Naruto was thrilled at the prospect of a possibility to earn himself a set of kunai and shuriken, and exclaimed as much.

"Alright, alright, calm down," she tried to get her son's attention. As amusing as his antics usually were, at times like this his exuberance was more of an annoyance. "You have some time to find yourself a hideout in the forest, then I'll start searching for you. If I take too long to find you, I'll think of getting you a training set of kunai and shuriken for your upcoming birthday."

She gave her son a small push toward the forest to signal that he should start, and watched as he disappeared into the woods.

"Why did you ask me to keep an eye on him when you were following us and could do so yourself?"

The voice of her companion drew her attention away from the forest her son had disappeared in only moments ago. Thinking for an answer, she rubbed her neck with her hand before she spoke.

"Well, why did you let him win your little 'race'?" She asked to get a bit more time, although her tone clearly told her partner that she wasn't expecting an answer. "I think," she started her answer, but interrupted herself, unsure on how to phrase her thoughts. "Hana was raised by my grandparents for the most part. By the point I was finally there for her, she already was old and capable enough to look after herself. Even without me being there to raise her she grew up to be a fine and rather mature girl.

"I guess, I'm just not sure if I'm doing right the way I raise him. I don't want him to be too dependant on me."

"You don't need to worry about that." As a dog, Kuromaru naturally hadn't the same body language as a human. Like most of the more experienced Inuzuka, however, Tsume was able to identify his version of a shrug as he answered.

"The wish to protect one's pup is only natural. I think you're doing well."

Tsume rubbed the base of her neck again, contemplating the words of her partner. "In all honesty; you're not being very helpful," she told him with a sigh. "I guess I'll just have to deal with it, somehow. But still... thanks."

On the outside, nothing about Kuromaru's demeanour changed. Despite this, Tsume would have readily sworn that, right at the moment, he looked rather... embarrassed. The thought alone almost had her rolling around on the ground in a it of laughter. Instead, she found herself wondering about the exact reason why her animal companion would be embarrassed. Even after all those years they had worked and fought together, there were always things about each other they were unable to figure out.

Unfortunately she had to interrupt her pondering as she noted that the time she had given Naruto to hide himself was over. While she was tempted to further contemplate on her companion's behaviour, she really didn't want to spend any more time just standing around at the edge of the forest.

The fact that she was concerned that Naruto somehow might seriously injure himself if she really handed a set of kunai and shuriken to him had nothing to do with it, of course. Nope, nothing at all.

It took her only a few seconds to gather her chakra and execute one of the Inuzuka's most basic exercises to enhance her sense of smell, and pick up her son's track. Without hesitation, she began to follow it at a fast pace.

After a while, she had reached what seemed to be her son's hideout; a hole in the base of a tree big enough to accommodate the small child, but too small for a grown-up.

"Gotcha!" She exclaimed and stuck her head into the hole.

"Awww... you're too early mom. Can't you seek a bit longer?" He looked rather disappointed that she had found him this fast.

"I'm sorry, but no. You had a pretty good hideout here, though."

"Then, how did you find me so quickly?" By now, Naruto looked intrigued and eager, instead of disappointed. This made Tsume smile with quite a bit of relief. As she knew him, he would have completely forgotten about the throwing weapons, soon. She beckoned her son to come out of his hiding place and began her explanation as soon as the two of them were seated comfortable against the base of the tree.

"Do you still remember what I taught you about gathering and channeling your chakra?" She asked him and waited until she got an affirmative nod before she continued. "Good. First, gather a small quantity of chakra. Be sure to keep it as steady as you can."

She watched as Naruto closed his eyes in deep concentration and finally, after a few seconds of silence, gave a sharp nod. She noticed the thin layer of sweat that had formed on his forehead as an indicator on how difficult this was for him.

"Now, start to slowly channel this chakra into your nose. Give it a few seconds' time and be careful not to channel to much of it at once."

To be fair, Naruto tried hard to follow his mother's instructions to the best of his abilities. Still, he wouldn't be himself if his eagerness didn't get the better of him at one point or another. So, instead slowly increasing the quantity of chakra he infused into his nose, he channeled all of his molded chakra at once. After all, putting more effort into something had to produce a better result, right?

As soon as Naruto began to sneeze and sniff, and frantically rub his nose, Tsume knew that he had overdone it with his amount of chakra. She took out a handkerchief and soaked it with a clear liquid from a bottle she had grabbed out of a pocket of her vest. Right now, she was quite grateful that she had remembered to take this scent-remover with her. Otherwise, Naruto would have the questionable pleasure to experience his heightened sense of smell for a good while longer.

As it was, she held the drenched handkerchief onto his nose, which calmed him down considerably as it blocked out the myriad of new information that had assaulted his mind.

"I told you not to overdo it!" She scolded her son with a face that was stern and concerned at the same time.

It took a few more minutes until Naruto seized his sneezing and sniffing completely, which Tsume took as a sign to continue her instructions.

"Now, let's try that again. And this time, start with a _small_ amount of chakra, and increase it gradually."

After several further tries, accompanied with a lot less sneezing and Tsume keeping the handkerchief with the scent-remover ready for use, he finally got the exercise right and they could continue to the main part of the exercise; to familiarize Naruto with his improved sense and how to interpret the informations it provided.

Which led to difficulties of it's own. Mainly the fact that they had to describe things the normal human language had no reliable descriptions for. After all, it wasn't exactly an everyday occurrence to explain the difference between a dog's and a squirrel's scent, or to describe the effects a change in mood had on the scent of a human, or how to single out a certain scent between others.

"Very good, Naruto-chan. Now, do you think you can single out my scent if you were to look for it in the forest?" Tsume started to bring their lesson to a close and incorporate it seamlessly into the next.

"I think so, but it isn't easy," Naruto answered after a few moments of thought.

"Then, we'll play hide-and-seek some more. This time, though, I'll be the one who hides, and you will have to look for me, by following my track. That's the way I found you so quickly when you were the one to hide." She gave him a small wink and pushed herself off the ground. "Now, you wait here until I call you, which is your signal to look for me. Alright?"

x--x--x--x--x

The next few hours were filled with their little game of hide-and-seek. At least, that was what it meant to Naruto. Tsume, however, intended this as some basic tracking practice and was a bit surprised just how well Naruto did, considering his age, as well as his complete lack of experience. A few times she took the difficulty up a notch, like taking a short detour through a small brook, or reclining a short distance through the treetops.

After each of these occasions, once her son had found her again, she took the time to explain to little Naruto what she had done, and why, and which was the best way to find the track anew if he encountered such a situation.

"Can we take a break, mom? I'm really, really hungry," a somewhat dishevelled looking Naruto asked. His claim was supported by a low growl coming from his stomach.

"I guess we'll go back to Kuromaru, then," Tsume commented her son's predicament with another grin. "Let's just hope he hasn't eaten all of the food already."

She squatted down to take her son, who seemed rather tired from running through the woods for so long, for a piggyback ride back to the place where they had left Kuromaru with their backpack. Arriving at the edge of the forest, however, it seemed as if Kuromaru had found some company, in the form of a young, purple-haired kunoichi, who currently was munching some dango.

As soon as she spotted Tsume emerging from the forest, she waved happily at her.

"Yo! Tsume-sama!"

Tsume did a double-take, the surprise evident on her face. Anko was certainly one of the last people she would have expected to be here.

"Anko-san? What are you doing here?"

Anko discarded the empty wooden stick that had held several pieces of her favourite food just seconds ago, before she finally gave Tsume her undivided attention. "The old geezer sent me. Seems he needs some of your clan's documents in his quest to clean up the village's records."

Peeking over the other woman's shoulder Anko finally noticed the blond boy on her back, who apparently had fallen asleep on their way. "That your little brat on your back? It's been some time since I last visited you."

"Yeah, he's gotten a lot bigger," Tsume responded with a proud smile, completely ignoring the way Anko rolled her eyes in annoyance. To her, there was just something wrong with the way Tsume acted all motherly. Although she had to admit that it had been amusing to watch the boy as he annoyed the hell out of Kuromaru during her last visit.

"Hurr...? Who's that?" Awakened from their short conversation, Naruto peered over his mother's shoulder, rubbing one of his eyes with his fist.

"Her name's Anko, and she's a friend of mine. She's here on some business from the Hokage, so please be quiet while I handle this, yes?" She looked over her shoulder into her son's eyes.

Resting his head on his mother's shoulder he mumbled something that she took as a sign of agreement and proceeded to listen quietly to their conversation.

"We were about to have dinner, as Naruto has gotten quite hungry." Tsume began and walked over to the backpack to take out some riceballs for Naruto to eat. "Perhaps you'd like to..." she began to offer Anko but fell silent as soon as she registered that someone obviously had rummaged through the backpack, and that one of the boxes she had packed was missing. Dangerously narrowing her eyes she looked at the younger kunoichi.

"Say, Anko, where exactly did you get those dango?"

Instead of looking embarrassed, or nervous, Anko just raised her hands and shoulders in a shrug, all the while grinning broadly. "I was hungry, and asked your buddy if I could grab something, but he just kept on staring into the woods like that. So I figured it'd be alright. Guess how happy I was when I found a box of dango in the pack."

In response, Tsume let out an annoyed sigh. She should have expected Anko to pull off something like that. Which didn't change the fact that it was unusual for Kuromaru to focus on something enough to distract himself from his surroundings as much as Anko described.

Almost as if she could read Tsume's thoughts, Anko pointed at the canine. "See? He's still doin' it. Must be something really interesting."

This earned her Tsume's undivided attention. If he was too distracted to notice Anko it was already discomforting enough. Staying in this state for what she guessed to be several minutes while there was a conversation going on just a few meters away was downright worrisome.

Turning her head around she indeed saw her companion lying in the grass. His head was raised high and his full attention was aimed at a spot somewhere in the undergrowth of the forest.

"Kuromaru?" She asked, unable to keep her worry out of her voice as she formulated the question.

His single ear finally turned toward her as a sign that he heard her. He remained silent for a few more moments, though, before he answered. "There was something. But it's gone now."

Frowing slightly, she turned back to Anko. "You didn't use a genjutsu on him, did you?"

"Huh?" Anko looked up, her face breaking into a cheeky grin as she processed the question. "Oh no, he didn't need any help distracting himself. He managed just fine, didn't he?" Unconcerned, she took out another stick of dango and began munching on it.

Tsume just rolled her eyes, sighing in exasperation. She would have liked to examine the behaviour of her companion further, but she could hardly ignore a request of her village's leader. With the firm intent to follow up on this once she had finished whatever business the Hokage had in store for her, she returned the topic of their conversation to the reason that brought Anko here in the first place. "Say, Anko, how pressing is the matter of the records?"

Anko's eyes wandered upwards and she tapped her finger slightly against her lips. "Not too important, I think. The old man said that he wanted them as quickly as possible, but he's got plenty of other stuff to take care of. I think tomorrow will be soon enough. I got the scroll with the details of his request right here."

"I'll see what I can do," Tsume replied with a sigh as she took the scroll from Anko. Considering the time it would most likely take her to search for whatever records the Hokage needed, she would probably spend the rest of the day looking for them.

And here she had hoped that she could spend the day with her family.

XXXXX

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AN: Finally, here's the next chapter. I'm very sorry for the long wait. Originally, this chapter was supposed to be about twice as long, though I decided to cut it in half to keep the time between updates shorter.

Anyway, I hope you like it. Quizer had quite a few things to complain about this time, and it took several tries to change them until he was satisfied. You might want to thank him for making this chapter a bit better than it's original version was.

Several reviewers asked what would become of Kiba, and if Naruto will receive a fox companion.

Kiba's fate will be cleared up in the next chapter, together with the reasons for Naruto to be in his place in this AU. I hope I'll manage to explain this satisfactory, though I'll probably screw up somewhere and end up making things confusing.

As for the companion... well, you'll just have to see.

In any case; thanks to my beta, Quizer, and all those who reviewed.

Kelenas


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Me? Own Naruto? Yeah, right.

XXXXX

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Nodding toward the two chuunin that made up the Hokage's guard of honour whenever he was in his office, Tsume walked toward the double-door and knocked with a slightly uncomfortable feeling in her stomach. The last time she had actually been in the Hokage's office was on the night of the Kyuubi's attack, and the memories of the events that surrounded that night did nothing to calm her uneasiness.

"Yes, come in," answered the voice of the Hokage from the inside.

Tucking the small bundle of scrolls and notes under her arm she entered the office and greeted the Hokage with a respectful bow. "Good evening, Hokage-sama. I bring the records you requested."

"Ah, Tsume-san. Good evening." He gave her a pleasant smile and made an inviting gesture toward one of the chairs in front of his desk. As she sat down, he eyed the scrolls under her arm with lifted brows. "I didn't expect to get the records this soon, nor did I expect you to bring them personally."

Tsume tried to give him a nonchalant shrug despite her uneasy feeling. "I didn't want to postpone this longer than necessary, or burden someone else with it." She hesitated a moment, pondering for a moment if she should mention the real reason why she had decided to deliver the scrolls herself. Noticing the knowing smile on the Hokage's face her decision was made easier. "Also, I'm ... curious about some of the records you requested. The ones on Hana, as well as her father, mainly."

Folding his hands in front of his face he glanced at her questioning. When he spoke, his voice was even and did not betray his thoughts. "Oh? And why is that, exactly?"

"In the message I received from Anko, you somehow seemed to single out those two like they were more important than the rest," she answered after licking her lips. "I'd like to know why."

The Hokage looked at her for a few moments until he nodded and unfolded his hands. He took his pipe out of one of his desk's drawers and packed it carefully before lighting it.

Tsume kept her silence throughout the whole process, though her anxious feeling only increased. Whenever the Sandaime took the time to smoke his pipe before - or during - a conversation, he did so to calm his nerves, indicating that this probably was a rather difficult subject, either for him or for her.

"I hoped that I would have some time to either confirm or confute my assumptions before talking to you about them," he began and breathed out a sizeable amount of smoke. "As it seems, we were mistaken to believe that Tamura-san was killed on the last mission you two participated in. It appears that he was taken captive instead, and managed to escape somehow after approximately four years of imprisonment."

The Hokage stopped to take a long drag from his pipe. Tsume just sat there, speechless, and tried to accept what she had just been told.

"I understand that this is quite a shock for you." He said and let out a long sigh. "I wish I had better news for you. But unfortunately, I also must tell you that he is dead. He fell in the defense of Konoha at the night of the Kyuubi's attack."

"Why do you tell me all this?" Tsume asked quietly. Even though the sadness in her voice was evident, she was remarkably calm and collected. It hurt, regaining and losing him again at the same time, but it was nothing compared to what she had felt when she lost him the first time. And yet she had learned to live with it.

The Hokage eyed her for a moment before he continued. "He had a son. A small boy who is currently at the village's orphanage. His mother died a few months prior to his father during childbirth. He has no living relatives left." Another drag from his pipe. "Except you, in a way, considering the relation you shared with his father ten years ago."

"So, you want me to take the boy in? Isn't that right?" Tsume asked while staring at the Hokage. "Why now? Why did you wait for more than four years, instead of telling me directly after all of this happened?"

"Because I didn't know at that point. Even now I'm not completely sure, as I didn't have the time to compare your records with the ones I have here," he began to explain while rubbing his forehead slightly. "Quite a lot of our records here are either incomplete, or nonexistent. There are no records that document your friend's return, for example. The only reason that we even know of all this is through sheer chance. One of the chuunin I tasked with clearing our records was a former comrade of yours and recognized the name on the boy's birth certificate. She informed me of this, and I ordered her to research the matter further." He paused to relit his pipe and take a few drags, as well as gauge Tsume's reaction.

"Can I see your records? I should be able to tell you if your assumptions are right or wrong and it would probably save some time," Tsume asked and stretched her hand forward.

The Hokage nodded and started to look for the documents, his pipe securely tucked away in the corner of his mouth. A few moments later, he found what he had looked for and gave her the documents. Keeping a blank expression on her face, Tsume took the papers and started to look through them slowly and carefully. Although she knew the answer even after looking only through about a half of the documents, she nevertheless read all of them. If she did so only to be thorough, or because she secretly hoped that she was mistaken, she did not know.

"Your assumptions are right. It's Ishiro," she told the Hokage as she returned the folder with the papers. He took them from her with a nod while puffing a bit of smoke from his pipe.

"Thank you. This will make some related cases easier. I'm sorry, though, that I had to trouble you with this."

His apology just met a shrug from Tsume as she stood up from her chair. "If there's nothing else, I'd like to take my leave if I may," she said and began to make her way toward the doors. The Hokage, however, stopped her in her tracks.

"What about the boy?"

She just stood there in silence for a few seconds. "I... I'll think about it."

x--x--x--x--x

For once, Tsume was glad about the rather sizeable distance between the Hokage's tower and her home. Traveling at a slow pace, the long walk offered her the opportunity to think about the news the Sandaime had told her. Perhaps a bit surprisingly, she didn't feel much grief. It has been four years since she lost her husband. And ten years since she lost Ishiro. While it didn't erase the pain she felt at times completely, it still did a lot to dull it.

No, she felt more like she just woke up from a long and pleasant dream, and suddenly found herself confronted with the harsh reality. The discussion with the Hokage reminded her just how easy it was to suddenly lose an important person.

Thinking about Hana, Kuromaru, and Naruto she suddenly felt the urge to see them and to make sure that they were safe. She knew that her fear was completely unfounded, but despite this her walk gradually picked up speed, and it wasn't long before she took to the roofs so she would reach her home sooner.

x--x--x--x--x

She found Kuromaru dozing on the living room's floor, although his head rose as soon as she entered. He watched her curiously as she crossed the room and slumped down besides him without a word.

"You're distressed," he stated after observing her behaviour for a few moments. It wasn't something he'd need to mention; Tsume knew even without this statement that he could pretty much read her like a book, mainly since she didn't even try to hide her emotional state. So his comment was probably meant more as a bait to get the reason for her distress out of her.

"Yeah. I am," she admitted as she stretched her legs and moved herself into a more comfortable position before she explained further. "When I visited the Hokage, he told me that Ishiro hadn't been killed during our mission in Rain. Instead he was captured, and managed to flee after four years of imprisonment, only to get himself killed during the Kyuubi's attack."

She drew one of her legs close to her body and rested her chin on it. "What kinda got to me, though, was when he told me that Ishiro had a son about Naruto's age, who currently lives in the orphanage. I'm somewhat at a loss what to do."

"You don't know if you want to take Ishiro's pup in or not?" Despite the fact that he had only one intact eye left, with a patch covering the other, his glare still held a surprising amount of force and intensity as he directed it at his partner.

His question earned a small nod from Tsume, who didn't notice the reaction her report earned from her partner. "I don't know if I should. On one hand, I want to take the boy in. Out of obligation towards Ishiro, if for no other reason. On the other hand, I barely manage to scrape together enough time to spend it with my children as it is."

She closed her eyes and began to massage her neck.

"You should know how I see this."

She gave a short, barking laugh, followed by a long, drawn-out sigh. "Yeah, yeah, I know. 'He's the pup of a pack mate. Take care of him!' or something. But it's just not that easy."

"You could ask the rest of the clan to help you out." Kuromaru looked at her with his eye narrowed.

"They are **my** kids, and I won't let anybody else raise them, even if it's a member of this clan." Tsume's low growl made her partner lower his head in apology, making her regret her harsh tone almost immediately."Sorry," she apologized in a milder tone, "but I can't stand the thought of ending up like one of those stuck-up clan heads or nobles who're strangers to their own kids."

"Where's Naruto?" Tsume asked after a few moments to break the uncomfortable silence that had spread between them and steer their conversation in a safer direction. Even if Kuromaru played along with her children's antics most of the time, he still held a quite different point of view from her where the upbringing of offspring was concerned, and this wouldn't have been the first time they argued over it.

"Upstairs, in his room."

With a grunt, Tsume pushed herself off the ground. "I'm going to talk to him about this."

x--x--x--x--x

If someone outside of Naruto's family entered his room, they'd probably surprised, as it didn't seem very childlike in its furnishing at first glance. Like most of the furniture in the Inuzuka families' house, the room was held in muted but warm colours, like the dark green carpet that covered the floor, or the wooden panel with its natural colouring.

That was not to say that no hints towards the inhabitant's young age were present. However, aside from the size of most pieces of furnishing, these hints were few. A small shelf held several skillfully carved wooden figures, depicting various animals and persons and alongside stood a few slightly worn-looking storybooks. Like Hana, and most other Inuzuka children, Naruto preferred to spend his time outside, playing in one of the small parks, or listening to Shippo's stories, which - according to the old animal trainer's assertions - were all true, no matter how absurd or outrageous they seemed, instead of playing with toys inside the house.

Stepping into the room she made her way towards the bed and sat down on its edge to look at her son, sleeping in his bed with a plush dog resting in his arms. The sight made Tsume smile widely, as she still remembered how she bought it for Naruto after Kuromaru's adamant refusal to serve as the boy's cuddly toy. A few times she stroked over the sleeping boy's hair before she withdrew her hand and left the room as silent as she had entered, any thought about waking the boy for their conversation gone from her mind. Instead, she just informed Kuromaru that she'd talk with Naruto tomorrow, and went to sleep herself.

x--x--x--x--x

_The ground beneath her feet was treacherous. Dead plants and leaves, wet from last night's rain, covered the ground in a slippery coating and more than once she or Ishiro almost stumbled, wasting precious seconds as they tried to regain their footing. Kuromaru didn't have the same problem. And, unfortunately, neither did their pursuers. _

_"They're catching up," Kuromaru panted. Their continuous flight took it's toll even on his endurance._

_"Damn." A quick tug on a cord loosened a bag of caltrops from the back of Tsume's hip and scattered them on the ground behind her, almost invisible in the twilight that reigned._

_Seconds later, her efforts were rewarded with a loud shout of pain and a few badly aimed kunai thrown in their direction. Not all of the enemy ninja fell for the impromptu trap and their pursuit continued almost unhampered, but eve one victim was more than she had hoped for._

_"We've got ... to split," Ishiro voiced no less out of breath than Kuromaru or her. He threw a concerned glance back over his shoulder. "Better chance... to loose them. Meet... at camp..." _

_She grimaced to show her disapproval of this idea without wasting valuable breath, but nodded her consent just a moment later. As much as she disliked his order, Ishiro knew what he was doing. They threw their smoke bombs almost simultaneously, with Tsume adding her remaining caltrops for good measure, covering the whole area in a thick black cloud. _

x--x--x--x--x

When she awoke from her dream, a piece of it stayed with her, and her first impulse, even before she opened her eyes, was to search under her pillow for the kunai that usually was stashed there. It was a habit she developed during the war. Being unarmed - no matter where, when, or why - never was a good idea during that time, and the fact that it helped her survive on at least one occasion played it's part in it's solidification.

When her fingers didn't close around the leather-wrapped handle of a kunai, the automatic thought process that had reigned her actions came to a grinding halt, allowing her to finally recognize her surroundings. She wasn't in one of the many scout-camps, sleeping in a makeshift-tent that didn't even manage to keep the insect life somewhat at bay, not to speak of the jungle's oppressive heat and humidity. Instead, she found herself hundreds of kilometers away, in the safety and security of her own bedroom.

A slightly quivering sigh of relief escaped her lips, and she had to swipe a bit of sweat off her face as she sat up in her bed. An annoyed frown made it's way upon her face. She really had thought that she had come to terms with her memories, but it seemed all that was needed for them to come back to her was a scratch on the surface.

"Mom?"

Snapping her head upwards she blinked into the half-darkness, the light coming from outside through her window barely enough to make out a silhouette standing in the door frame. When she activated the light on her nightstand with a jolt of chakra, she saw her son standing in the door of her room. He watched her, one hand still resting on the door's handle, while the other was firmly twined around his stuffed dog, looking both sleepy and worried at the same time.

"Sorry, Naruto. Did I wake you?" Strange. While her dream hadn't been pleasant - far from it - she didn't think her reactions would be extreme enough to wake him, even if his room was right next to hers.

"Nh-nh. I went to the kitchen to drink, and when I went back to bed I heard you groaning. Are you sick, mom?" He walked over to her bed and tried to reach her forehead, though he fell short a few centimeters.

"No, not sick. Just had an... unpleasant dream," she answered as she picked him up. Settling him on her lap she let him fell her forehead, hopefully dispelling his concern in the process. When he was satisfied, he withdrew his hand and looked in her face, his head tilted to the side.

"It was a dream about... an old friend of mine. About the day... I lost him," she told him unasked. It wasn't the full truth, but for now it would suffice.

Unconsciously, she hugged Naruto tighter as the words, and the memories they carried, streamed from her mouth unbidden.

"We were on a reconnaissance patrol, to investigate reports about enemy troop movement in the jungles of Rain Country. Instead, we ran straight into an ambush. We tried to escape, but... Iwa had set up some kind of deal with Hidden Rain, or at least a part of it's forces. Trying to run from a group of ninja on their own territory isn't a good idea."

She chewed on her lips, hard enough that the imprints of her teeth would remain there for a few minutes before disappearing.

"So we split up, in hopes of increasing our chance to escape successfully and wanted to meet back at our camp. Both Kuromaru and I somehow managed to lose our pursuers, though just barely in my case, and reach the camp. Ishiro... my friend, didn't. He was captured, by the Rain-nin that had ambushed us."

Her voice grew more quiet as she went on, until she trailed off with her last sentence. For a few minutes Tsume continued to stare blankly at the opposite wall, while her mind dragged up the pictures from her memories to accompany her story, until she snapped out of it and redirected her attention to her son. Usually, he should be bombarding her with questions about those part of her story he didn't understand, but instead he had stayed quiet, as if he somehow sensed the importance of what she told him, and looked at her intently.

"Sorry, Naruto-chan. You probably didn't understand what I was talking about, did you?" Forcing a smile to show on her face she planted a kiss on his cheek. "Don't worry, you'll do when you're a bit older. Right now, I just needed to get that out of my mind. Thanks for listening to your mother's rambling."

She watched as Naruto wiped the spot on his cheek with the sleeve of his pyjama with a somewhat grumpy expression on his face. He was slowly growing into an age where physical shows of affection became undesirable. Hugging him, and ruffling his hair were both still alright, but kissing him approached 'taboo' status pretty fast.

Of course, that didn't stop Tsume from expressing her affection this way, and watching his childish reaction actually helped to lighten her otherwise rather dark mood a bit. And remind her of the conversation she had had with the Hokage this evening. Or rather, it's topic.

"You know... Ishiro had a kid, too. A boy, about your age. That's one of the reasons the Hokage wanted to speak to me."

"Hurr?" Stopping in his attempts to wipe his cheek - no matter that it already was clean - Naruto looked at his mother with his head tilted to the side and she noted he had some trouble to keep his eyes fully open. "Why did the Hokage want to speak to you about your friend's son?" he asked somewhat mumbled.

"Because the boy is an orphan - that means both his father, Ishiro, and his mother are gone," Tsume explained the term to her son, "and he wanted to know if I could take care of the boy, since I was friends with his father."

She paused in her speak to look directly into her son's eyes to press the importance of what she said next. "But, that would depend a lot on what you and Hana have to say to this matter. If I adopt the boy - that means taking him into our family, I won't be able to pay as much attention to you and your sister until he's settled in, and I don't want you to feel neglected."

Naruto's face drooped with her words, and he looked like he was about to cry at the possibility of spending even less time with his mother. Tsume quickly put her hand on his shoulder in a manner that was hopefully both reassuring and comforting, while her son hugged his plush dog tighter and buried his lower face in its fur.

"Look... if you or Hana don't want me to, I'll drop the whole thing and tell the Hokage to find someone else. But... I'd like to adopt the boy. His father was a very dear friend of mine, and if..." she paused and took a deep breath as she tried to think how to best phrase her next words, "if he was in my place, with me being gone... I'm sure he would take care of you."

Seeing his still-sad face, she withdrew her hand from his shoulder and placed it on top of his head instead, gently rubbing his forehead with her thumb. "I know it's not fair to you... but I'll try to make it work somehow."

"You promise?"

"Yepp." She allowed a small grin to show on her face. "And if I don't manage to, no matter the excuse, you'll grab your new brother and come up with a way to kick my ass, allright?"

The nod she received was far from enthusiastic, and her attempt to reassure and cheer him up at the same time was far from successful, but it probably was the best she would get.

"Good." She gave him another kiss, this time on his forehead. It still earned her a grimace, but this time he didn't try frantically to wipe it off. "Sorry to keep you awake this long."

"'S okay, mom. I'm not tired," Naruto responded with a shake of his head, even as he yawned widely, shamelessly belying his own statement.

"Of course you aren't." A small grin made its way upon her face as she agreed with her son, while she disentangled her arms from him so he could return to his own bed.

Instead, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with his free hand, and looked at her hopefully. "Erm... mom? Could I sleep here, tonight? With you?"

"Aren't you too old for that?" she asked teasingly, earning another shake of his head - this time much more vehement - to answer her question. Without further delay, she lifted the covers for him to crawl under, where he quickly snuggled close to his mother's side, the plush dog firmly pressed against his chest.

"'Night, mom," he mumbled sleepily as she reached over him to turn of the light.

"Good night, Naruto-chan."

Tsume gently stroked his hair while his breathing slowly grew deeper and more even, until it reached the slow, steady rhythm of a sleeper within a matter of minutes. When she was sure that he was fast asleep she finally let herself slide down from her sitting position, careful not to wake her now-sleeping son, until her own head rested comfortably on her pillow.

Not feeling like she could sleep, yet, she played the conversation over in her head, somewhat surprised at the result.

She had thought that she simply wanted some input from Naruto and Hana, to help her with her decision. Nothing really profound - they were simply too young for that, especially Naruto - just something as simple as "I'd like to have a new brother" or "I wouldn't like to have another sibling", to give her opinion a push in one direction or the other.

Instead, she found herself talking Naruto into accepting the prospect of a new sibling despite his obvious reluctance over the course of the conversation. And she had no real doubt that the conversation with Hana would turn out similar, more or less.

"Seems my mind's already made up about adopting the boy," she whispered to herself, a bitter smile on her lips. Sure, with her decision made she felt reliefed, as if a weight she didn't even know she was carrying had been lifted from her. But, the way Naruto had reacted when she told him that she might have even less time to spend with him...

She gazed at him as he slept at her side, his face barely visible above the blankets.

Did she really spend that little time with her children?

She knew that she was busy, despite (or maybe because of?) the Inuzuka's rather informal organization, and there were often things that popped up and hindered her to spend her time with her family, just like today. But... not to this extent.

A grimace made its way on her face upon the realization. Alright, maybe she wasn't the most experienced clan head the Inuzuka ever had, but she managed to handle the day-to-day affairs of the clan just fine.

All she had to do now was to figure out how to save more time for herself and her family.

And she'd be damned if she didn't manage to do so, somehow.

x--x--x--x--x

It was astonishing, in a way, how much difference a single night, and a few talks, could make between her visits to the Hokage's office. This time, Tsume felt nothing of the anxiousness or hesitation that had plagued her the previous day. It might have been that, unlike her previous visit, she knew precisely what their conversation would be about, instead of constantly thinking what unpleasant news the Sandaime might possibly have in store for her. Or maybe it was her simple but adamant refusal to let the memories she associated with this place drag her down.

Whatever the case, Tsume didn't spend much time pondering the issue. Instead, she strode past the civilians and ninja working in the tower with barely a nod, her mind firmly focused on the task at hand, until she reached the door of the Hokage's office.

There, her resolve faltered for a short moment while she inquired from the guards if the Hokage was currently available. In her haste to finalize her decision, lest she would second-guess it, she hadn't thought of arranging an appointment with the Hokage. Yesterday, she had been lucky to see him immediately upon her arrival, though it might have played a part that he had been waiting for the documents she brought. That didn't necessarily mean today would be the same.

When the guards informed her - somewhat nervous and hasty, she noted - that she was free to see the Hokage at once, her worries were dispelled almost in an instant and she felt her previous composure return, although it was accompanied by a bit of surprise.

Pushing the latter aside she opened the door with a short knock, greeting the Hokage as she entered.

"Good morning, Hokage-sama."

At her entrance the Sandaime looked up from the scroll he had been reading and returned her greeting with a smile as soon as he recognized her.

"Ah, Tsume-sana, good morning. This is about our previous conversation, I assume?" When he received a nod upon his question he closed the roll of pergament and put it aside before folding his hands in front of him on the desk.

"What did you decide?" he asked, his previous smile replaced by a serious and stern countenance.

"I'm going to take the boy, Kiba, in and adopt him," she answered similarly serious, and watched as the Sandaime took a single form of the many papers lying on his desk and handed it towards her. As she strode forward from her previous standing place close to the door to accept the papers, she couldn't help but think how... anticlimactic this felt. Not that she had expected anything dramatic to happen, really, but it still seemed... well, not disappointing, but... unfair, probably. Working out this problem hadn't been easy for her, and she felt as if it should take more than just a few words and a signed form to solve.

"You know, you didn't have to come to me for this," the Sandaime's voice tore her out of her thoughts just as her fingers took a hold of the paper. It took Tsume a good second to replay the words in her head, and another until she understood what the Hokage meant. Usually, adoption wasn't exactly a matter the village's leader would handle. Instead, there was likely an office that took care of such requests, though she wasn't completely sure, since she previously never had a reasons to concern herself with this topic.

When she realized that she was, in fact, wasting the Sandaime's time for no real reason other than her own narrow-minded lack of forethought and the old man's willingness to indulge her, she couldn't help but put on a sheepish and apologetic grin as she scratched the back of her head in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama... I didn't... I hadn't thought..."

Her attempt to apologize was cut short when the Sandaime waived it aside with a chuckle. "Don't worry, Tsume-san, I really don't mind. Interruptions like this are more than welcome, especially when I don't find the time to take a break of my own."

She couldn't help but feel relieved at that, though a part of her told knew that she should be more self-assured, both as a person person and as a clan head, in front of the Hokage. Even so it was difficult; the old man Sarutobi had held the title before Tsume was even born, and pretty much defined the position in her mind, the Yondaime's short reign notwithstanding. As such it was hard for her not to look up to him as an example of how a leader should be, even though she was much closer to him in status now then she had been as young kunoichi.

His words, however, also brought to attention the problem that had been lurking in the back of her mind ever since her conversation with her son, the previous night. For a moment she struggled with herself, unsure if she should trouble the Hokage with her problem, but she couldn't really think of anyone else she might be able to ask, especially someone with as much experience.

"Sandaime-sama?" she asked, licking her lips nervously. "You... said something about taking breaks, during your work..." She knew that her attempt to broach the topic was rather clumsy, and that Sarutobi might take offense from the way she voiced the question, but she couldn't think of any better way.

"Yes, on occasion. It is a habit of mine that tends to make the rest of my work easier. What about them?" He looked at her in a mixture of surprise, at her sudden change of topic, and confusion, where she might be going with her question.

Tsume, meanwhile, was glad that Sarutobi hadn't taken offense, and began to recount part of the conversation she had with her son; that she barely had time to spend with her family, due to her duties as clan head, and that she had hoped he would have some advice for her.

While he listened to her, the Hokage's gaze changed from confusion and surprise to understanding and he began to rub his chin in contemplation.

"Many people," he began once Tsume had finished, "dislike to take too much responsibility, and prefer some higher authority to decide for them, even if they are perfectly capable of making those decision on their own."

He made a gesture that encompassed the paperwork that laid on his desk in the form of scrolls, loose forms, or stacks of paper. "Most of this are things that I don't really have to decide - not personally, at least - and that I could, without a problem, pick up, deposit in the arms of my Chuunin guards, and tell them 'See to it that this is taken care of'. I do so rather often, actually," he admitted with a slight chuckle and Tsume, too, grinned as she pictured the scene in her mind, before he continued more seriously. "The point is that you have to learn to distinguish between those things that are actually important, and those that only end up on your desk because someone else is being lazy. It might take you a while, but it'll save you a lot of time - and nerves - in the end."

He finished his explanation with a smile and then looked at Tsume expectantly. "Does that answer your question, Tsume-san?"

"Yeah..." she answered somewhat absent-minded, already thinking how she could put the Hokage's suggestion to good use, before she tore her thoughts away and back into the present. "Thanks, Sandaime-sama. I really appreciate your advice."

Once again he waived her comment aside with a chuckle, indicating that it wasn't a big deal, and instead pointed at the forms she still held in her hand. "You can hand in the papers at the reception, once they're filled out. Then you should be able to pick up the boy from the orphanage the following day. I am sure you won't regret this decision, Tsume-san."

When she smiled this time it was slightly apprehensive. She really hoped that the Sandaime was right in his assumption, and bowed deeply before she left, his advice firmly rooted in her mind.

And even if she would come to regret this decision, she would never back out of it.

XXXXX

XXXXX

AN: Been a while, hasn't it? Sorry for the long wait. Lot's of stuff happened, like me moving to a foreign country, or starting on two additional stories, but the main reason is simply that I've been pretty lazy.

I'm not really satisfied with the chapter's last scene, but I'm glad its finally finished, and that I can move on to the next chapter, where (hopefully) the plot will start moving... somewhat.

Also, this chapter hasn't been beta-ed, as Quizer's been quite busy lately, and I didn't want to bother him.

Kelenas


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